Exhibition

Early in the morning of June 22 1941 after artillery and air preparation, German troops crossed the border of the Soviet Union without a declaration of war.
Despite the desperate resistance, Nazi troops quickly broke into the country, and for the first three weeks of the war the Red Army troops left Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus.

Since the Soviet offensive at Stalingrad in November 1942, the culmination of the defeat of the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht, the regular connection of the Red Army continued to build on the success in other sectors of the front. The liberation of the village Pivnivka Milove Region in the end of 1942 marked the beginning of the liberation of the Ukrainian SSR from invaders - December 18, soldiers of the 1st Guards Army, commanded by General Kuznetsov were first entered the land of Ukraine. On the same day were released and some other localities Milove Region.
According to the plan of the Supreme Command in early 1943 Soviet troops began a major offensive in the direction of Donbass and Kharkov. Despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the Red Army was able to release a series of north-eastern regions of Donbass and Kharkov, however, causing a powerful counter-attack, Wehrmacht regained control of the abandoned areas. Despite these considerable successes of the enemy, the Red Army managed to keep the strategic initiative in their hands.

Continuation of the offensive of the Red Army on the left-bank Ukraine

The defeat at Stalingrad became a crush for the German troops, but the worst was still in front.
On the wave of success of the Red Army passed to the offensive, Stalin approved plans of operations "Jump" and "Star" of the encirclement of the Wehrmacht in the Donbas.
However, by the spring of 1943, the rapid advance of the Red Army was stopped by German counterattacks. Theater of operations in Kursk has formed the westward ridge known as the "Kursk salient". Kursk, being a major railway junction, was strategically important settlement. The capturing of the city was of great importance for the German troops, and the salient could serve as a convenient base for future operations. Both sides understood it, so at the front there was a stagnation, which both armies used to regroup and prepare for the next battle ...